One interesting topic we’ll talk about today is emotional Intelligence. But we won’t just stop defining what emotional Intelligence is because I also want you to know its direct connection to self-awareness.
Emotional Intelligence has something lot to do with our self-awareness. If you have greater self-awareness, then you can achieve an emotionally healthy life, and that’s positive news! In fact, self-awareness is one of the emotional intelligence skills we should explore and improve within ourselves.
Emotions are a big part of our lives. You can’t get through the day without feeling anything!
But emotions can be hard to understand sometimes, especially if you’ve been through a lot of trauma. And for others, it can be really hard to figure out what’s wrong with them or how they should react to their feelings.
That’s where emotional Intelligence comes in.
It helps us understand what we’re feeling and why we feel it. So that we can take action based on that knowledge instead of being swept away by our emotions like a boat caught up in a storm.
What You Will Learn on This Page
What is EI or emotional Intelligence?
Emotional Intelligence, also known as EI, focuses on identifying and managing your own emotions and the emotions of others. Yes, it’s also about understanding others.
It’s the ability to be aware of how your emotions affect you and the people around you and how to manage those emotions so that they can help you achieve your goals.
Often, emotional Intelligence is thought of as “soft skills” or something that isn’t particularly important in business settings. But in fact, it’s one of the most essential skills for success at work and for success in life.
What is self-awareness?
Self-awareness is a process that involves self-examination and reflection.
It’s the ability to recognize your emotions, values, and feelings. This ability is essential for self-regulation, which is the ability to control your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors in order to achieve your goals.
Likewise, self-awareness also helps you manage stress, understand your strengths and weaknesses, make better decisions, and build healthy relationships with others.
The more self-aware you are about yourself and other people, the more effectively you’ll be able to navigate life’s challenges and opportunities.
The connection between emotional Intelligence and self-awareness
Emotional Intelligence is an integral part of self-awareness, but it’s not the whole story.
But what does it exactly have to do with self-awareness?
EI gives you the ability to understand yourself better, which means you’re more likely to recognize how your emotions affect your behavior.
That allows you to make changes that will help make sure your feelings don’t get in the way of what matters most.
For example, if someone comments about something you did or said, it gets under your skin. Understanding how EI works can help you take a step back and realize that they probably didn’t mean anything by it.
Instead of lashing out at them or getting upset over nothing, you can let it pass and avoid confronting them, which could lead to a big misunderstanding.
Let’s look at these two aspects with different but connecting functions.
Emotional Intelligence is responsible for understanding your emotions and feelings. Meanwhile, self-awareness helps you to digest those emotions through careful thinking or reflection.
As said earlier, self-awareness is a skill you need to improve your emotional Intelligence. Aside from self-awareness, there are also the following skills that contribute to EI.
- Self-management
- Social awareness
- Relationship management
All these are important in keeping yourself emotionally healthy. But you might want to focus on improving your self-awareness first. Why? Well, because it will teach you to respond to different emotions you feel towards others.
Improving your self-awareness can lead to healthy and stress-free relationships with others.
One essential part of self-awareness is being mindful, especially when you’re in a situation that needs immediate reflection.
What is being mindful mean?
As said earlier, part of self-awareness is the self-examination and reflection process. In this process, you need to be mindful.
But what does it exactly means?
Mindfulness is a cognitive practice that intentionally focuses your attention on the present moment.
It’s often associated with meditation, but you don’t need to sit cross-legged to experience the benefits of being mindful.
In fact, many people practice mindfulness by engaging in simple activities like walking or eating breakfast.
By doing these things mindfully, you can focus on what you’re experiencing at the moment and notice how it makes you feel. Yes, it’s still about concentrating on your feelings.
This can help you make better decisions about spending your time and even improve your emotional health!
Likewise, being mindful allows us to be more present and aware of ourselves and our surroundings, making better decisions about what we want and need for our lives.
You can improve your self-awareness if you know how to focus on the current situation.
Other tips for improving self-awareness
Self-awareness is an essential part of being a healthy human being. It’s about understanding yourself and your motivations, so you can make better decisions and improve the quality of your life.
But what does self-awareness actually mean? And how can we improve it? Here are some helpful ways to help get you started.
- Don’t be afraid to ask for help. If you’re feeling stuck, don’t be scared to ask someone else for their perspective on what’s going on in your life right now. You’ll even thank them for lending their help afterward.
- Get out of your comfort zone once in a while by trying something new. This is an easy way to increase self-awareness because you’ll learn more about yourself and others who do things differently than what you’re used to!
- Pay attention to how others react when they talk about themselves or their experiences. This will give you insight into what they value most and why.
- Be mindful of your body language and nonverbal communication when interacting with others. This tells us much about our thoughts and how comfortable we feel around others.
Take your time to improve.
Learning about emotional Intelligence and self-awareness is important because it gives you the tools to be your best self in every situation.
It allows you to understand what’s happening with yourself, others, and the world around you. It helps you develop empathy for those around you and makes it easier for you to communicate your ideas effectively.
Plus, learning about emotional Intelligence and self-awareness can help you develop a stronger relationship with yourself, which is something we should all work hard for!